Inside The Perimeter

You may remember on Friday my mood was a little less than stellar. I was feeling all sorry for myself and my current station in life. Of course my mental ship was quickly righted when I heard of the death of one my aunts on Friday.

I was one button-click away from ordering a new laptop this weekend as a way to cure my ills. The only thing that caused me pause is the constant rumor that Apple will be updating its Macbook line “any day now.” Like many planes over Hartsfield I’m going to circle Apple’s runway for a while and see what turns up.

Nashville Just Never Panned Out This Time
Normally I love Nashville, it’s a city that allows me to unleash a hidden me. Normally I’ve come to love traveling alone, it allows me to do photography on my terms. I suppose I was just in no mood to drink alone and never saw anything that caught my eye (well, other than many of the young women on Vanderbilt’s campus). With the exception of going out for dinner early on Friday night I was a homebody in my hotel rooms. Professionally the trip may pan out as a successful one, but remains to be seen.

Sing It With Me… “It’s A Small World After All”
I was up and out of the hotel by 5:30am Central on Saturday morning. I was hoping to luck into a beautiful sunrise to photograph. Instead as the sun rose I found myself eating a breakfast in a Waffle House. With my belly filled I set Jill up to take me to Cloudland Canyon State Park, one of the many Georgia state parks I had yet to visit.

I arrived in the park some time just before 9am Eastern and parked my car. (Have I mentioned how much of a thrill it is to get continued use of my annual Georgia State Park parking pass?) As I started to walk toward the canyon I thought I recognized a guy getting out of his car, but since I wasn’t wearing my glasses I needed to get closer to make sure. Wouldn’t you know that I did know the person — it was my friend Bill from Atlanta. What are the odds that I’d run into someone I know while up there? Bizarre.

Cloudland Canyon is nice, and I’m sure will be much nicer when the leaves turn color. The park is probably a lot more picturesque when there is significant rainfall or snowmelt and the water falls actually have water, as opposed to the trickling that I witnessed.

ITP Flickr Pic
I have to cheat some more today. I took some shots at Cloudland Canyon on Saturday morning, but nothing seemed to jump out at me so I never got around to processing them. Instead I will use the photo that is sure to launch many a beer run to Tennessee.

Sadly it’s a bit blurry because I took it using my cellphone’s camera. Even so, I think you get the idea.

I Think I Drank At Least One Beer For Every Two Miles I Ran
While there was a little more walking involved, I successfully ran a (modified) ten mile run yesterday. I knew that I wouldn’t be able to keep up with Martha and Dave (aka P.E.) so after two miles I stopped and put on my headphones. For the next eighty minutes I thumped along to house / trance, only to desire a switch to Los Lobos with about four miles remaining. To my horror I realized that I blew away Los Lobos the last time I updated this iPod, so instead I shuffled along listening to the Butterfly Assassin’s “Sylivia.” I completed the ten-mile route in about 1:45:00 which is about five minutes slower than I had anticipated. Overall, I cannot complain about my efforts.

As is always the case, Martha had a wonderful spread of food and a full complement of beer and was not deterred by the (relatively) huge crowd of runners who gathered as this was our first running meetup in months. I chose to make it a “meat day” because there was no way that I was going to deny myself bacon after ten miles of running. This proved to be a really good choice when Martha returned with pizza from Little Azio for those hard-core drinkers who remained until late into the afternoon.

One Step Closer To A Winless Season
(Sunday morning) “Hey, let’s bench Eli Manning and play Trent Edwards because Buffalo is playing Arizona — who gave up six passing touchdowns to the Jets last week.” What a brilliant idea! Manning scored over twenty-two points against Seattle, while Edwards got knocked out of the game with a concussion after only three plays. This sort of “luck” has been the only luck the East Atlanta Deatbeat Dads have had this year. I am currently at zero wins, five losses. Yeouch!

Aaaamazing Race, Aaaaamaaaazing Race
Amidst the hours of football watching I found enough time to catch last night’s The Amazing Race. Two episodes in and I’m officially hooked again, although I’ve yet to commit the players’ names to memory.

So far I know that I am no fan of the separated couple because she annoys the living shit out of me, the young brother and sister team because I don’t like the way he plays, and the newly-dating couple from New York because the guy is such a weenie.

This Town Is Running Out Of Cuban Restaurants. The One I’ll Be At Tomorrow Might Be Packed
A couple of months ago we lost Kool Korner Grocery which had to close its doors because of the increase in value of the land on which it sat. This morning the Atlanta Journal Constitution reports that a fire broke out this morning at the Havana Sandwich Shop on Buford Highway and that the building suffered significant damage.

I’ll be eating Cuban food tomorrow night (using my remaining meat-eating day in the process). I’m going to keep the location on the down-low in order to make sure that people hankering Cuban food don’t flock.

And now for some ideas stolen from LiveJournal…
Current Mood - sore, sniffly, but overall okay
Current Music - Sirius Satellite Radio, Channel 26 playing Belle & Sebastian — “Step Into My Office, Baby”
Website Of The Day - How can I not like a website called Tinkernut?
Exercise (b)Log - Saturday: running, ~3 miles; Sunday: running, 10 miles
Monthly Foot Mileage - 21.5 miles
Monthly Wheel Mileage - 0 miles
Monday Morning Weigh-In - 201 pounds (Dangen!)
Mode Of Transportation To Work - my car
Monthly Marta Rides - 0
Consecutive Days Of Bed-Making (Longest Streak) - 22 (110)
Books To Read To Earn Kindle - 4
Vegetarian Days - 4
Carnivore Days - 2

October Goals
1) Lose no fewer than three pounds
2) Drink nothing but water, coffee, beer, wine
3) Run no fewer than 75 miles
4) Bike no fewer than 125 miles

Cheers,
Paulie [eatl/ga]

Even with the problems I documented in the last post, this is a fairly decent hotel as cheap hotels go. However, too many long mirrors exist here and my appearance in them sent me down into a major spiral of depression. It’s not just the fat I see either, it’s the genetic defects and associated degradation that have been passed down through family lineage.

RIP: Jimmy The Cricket (2008-2008)
On Wednesday I saw a cricket on my windshield as I parked behind George’s Bar. Imagine my surprise to see that same cricket still on my car after driving at least two hours at speeds up to 80mph?! The cricket had obviously found a spot on one of my windshield wipers where the air flow was not too harsh and it allowed him to hang on. For at least two hours I watched the cricket hang on for dear life, occasionally shifting its position! If the cricket survived the trip I planned on shooing it off once I parked my car in to a bush, obviously out of sight from nearby birds — a Georgia cricket in Tennessee. Imagine my surprise when the cricket was still on my car when I entered Nashville; it managed to hang on for the entire trip! Imagine my dismay when I saw the cricket get whisked off the windshield at 60mph as we headed to our final destination. I can’t imagine that the cricket made if off that road alive.

Imagine my surprise later in the evening when I felt that the cricket was the lucky one.

And Just When I Thought I’d Cleared A Major Hurdle
Yesterday I arrived in Nashville around 11am Central with a major hunger (after all it was noon according to my stomach). I found out quickly that my Garmin Nüvi 350 has no “vegetarian” category under food and that Windows Live searching on my Blackjack failed because there were “network issues.” Argh! However, I was able to search “vegetarian” and get some suggestions for grub. I landed at Sitar Indian restaurant which has a lunch buffet. I was proud of myself as I passed on each of the delicious trays containing meat in order to obey my new food commitment (my new euphemism for diet). At the time I was pleased with my life and thought things were looking up. How wrong I’d be…

ITP Flickr Pic
I have no new photos to post today, so I’ll dig up one from a few weeks back.

This is kind how I feel about myself today, except this is how this bird should look; I should be that lucky.

Nashville: A Sinister Network Of Inclines And Declines
In an attempt to rebound from the beginning of a shitty mood I decided to go out for a run. Yay me! I found that I had packed everything except my iPod Nano and headphones, so it was going to be a quiet run except for the gasping for air noises I’d provide.

Eight years ago I ran eighteen miles (at once!) in Nashville. Half as many years ago I ran Nashville’s half marathon. I’d forgotten how much Nashville climbs and declines.

The hotel in which I stayed last night is located near Music Row and Vanderbilt University so I headed toward the school figuring it would provide safe running ground. What it also provided was a right ass kicking. With much difficulty, although aided by numerous stops for traffic lights, I manged four miles.

Unfortunately my “accomplishment”, which could be partially categorized as a failure since it was not done in the way that I desired, did nothing more than pile on to my self-loathing. Not only did I not go out and have fun last night, I spent the entirety of the evening in the hotel room. Dinner was two small packs of pretzels, a CLIF Bar that I had stored in my running bag, and a cup of crappy hotel room coffee — at least it was vegetarian…

Meat It’s What For Food Today
Today day is a meat day. That is all.

And now for some ideas stolen from LiveJournal…
Current Mood - depressed
Current Music - listening to the “Mac Geek Gab” podcast
Website Of The Day - Save the world, not for me but rather for others. Recycle your dead batteries! Where? Find out by visiting the Rechargeable Battery Recycling Corporation.
Exercise (b)Log - running, 4 miles
Monthly Foot Mileage - 8.5 miles
Monthly Wheel Mileage - 0 miles
Mode Of Transportation To Work - my car, somewhere
Monthly Marta Rides - 0
Consecutive Days Of Bed-Making (Longest Streak) - 20 (110) [on hold since I'm hotel living again]
Books To Read To Earn Kindle - 4
Vegetarian Days - 3
Carnivore Days - 0

October Goals
1) Lose no fewer than three pounds
2) Drink nothing but water, coffee, beer, wine
3) Run no fewer than 75 miles
4) Bike no fewer than 125 miles

Cheers,
Paulie [eatl/ga]

I’ve been fucking stymied again by hotel internet access. It worked until about 7pm and then shat the bed.

Let’s just say that this punctuated a bad, and completely depressing day. About the last thing I needed was to spend the night cut off from the world. I was too depressed to go out and may not be staying in Nashville as planned because I don’t see my spirits liftting today as the cause of the depression is a permanent condition.

May your Friday be better than mine, and your weekend enjoyable.

Adios,
Paulie [eatl/ga]

I’m trying hard to get going. I really should learn to get all of my ducks in a row prior to waking up on the morning I need to leave. Well, at least I was able to fill up my tank with gasoline last night before embarking on today’s journey to Nashville, Tennessee. “Why Nashville?” you ask? I’ll be attending Vanderbilt University’s career fair today. Yay…

I will attempt to forget that I really wanted to be in Athens tonight for the Okkervil River show. D.D.D.Dave, if you are able to make it, please tell me all of the fun that I missed in tomorrow’s comments.

Running At The Speed Of Life
It was good to make it out to George’s last night to get in a run and hang out with friends I don’t see often these days. My run, punctuated with a few periods of walking and stopping, was just perfect. I started off by forgetting to start my stopwatch, so I have no idea how long the approximately 4.5 mile route took to complete. I kept a comfortable pace, having the ability to maintain a conversation throughout. And with the exception of one cyclist’s passive-aggressive snarky “Do mind me.” as we crossed paths at Freedom Parkway, the journey was enjoyable.

I kept up the vegetarian-ish lifestyle (two days in a row now…) by ordering beer and popcorn for dinner. Upon returning home I realized that popcorn alone should not be dinner so I whipped up an egg burrito and chased it with a CLIF bar before passing out on the couch.

A Mind Is A Difficult Thing To Master
In two separate dreams last night I dreamed that
1) I was flying to Denver today (um, if anyone sees me at the airport please turn me in the opposite direction).
2) That I already blew my “water, coffee, beer, wine” goal by drinking a huge glass of milk for breakfast.

WTF? Am I going to keep having these bizarre hallucinations as I walk down the meatless-diet path?

ITP Flickr Pic
I don’t know why reflections intrigue me so.

I’ll Be On Central Time, Must See TV’s Gonna Be Missed
My DVR is set to record tonight, but there’s so much on that it’ll have to work overtime in order to get everything. Another new The Office, apparently a new Survivor, and another Kitchen Nightmare. No spoilers tomorrow, ‘kay? Thanks.

There’s Beer In Tennessee You Can’t Get Here
Since I’ll be in my car and won’t have to placate a co-worker today, I can guarantee that I’ll be making a pit stop or three in order to purchase some beer that can’t be had locally. Rumor has been confirmed that at least Fat Tire can be had. In addition I plan on picking up a few sixers of some Tennessee locals for my consumption. Finally, a business trip that I can enjoy.

And now for some ideas stolen from LiveJournal…
Current Mood - good, but I’m rushing around to get ready to leave
Current Music - listening to yesterday’s C|Net’s “Buzz Out Loud” podcast
Website Of The Day - I hear there’s a VP debate tonight. Well, since I didn’t pick Change.org the day of the Presidential debate, I’ll pick it today.
Exercise (b)Log - running, ~4.5 miles
Monthly Foot Mileage - 4.5 miles
Monthly Wheel Mileage - 0 miles
Mode Of Transportation To Work - my car for a really long commute
Monthly Marta Rides - 0
Consecutive Days Of Bed-Making (Longest Streak) - 21 (110)
Books To Read To Earn Kindle - 4
Monthly Vegetarian Days - 1
Monthly Carnivorous Days - 0

October Goals
1) Lose no fewer than three pounds
2) Drink nothing but water, coffee, beer, wine
3) Run no fewer than 75 miles
4) Bike no fewer than 125 miles

Cheers,
Paulie [eatl/ga]

Is me. I finally recharged the batteries which belong in my scale. Why I bought a charging unit which requires up to sixteen hours to recharge AA batteries still baffles me. With fresh batteries in the scale I stripped off any unnecessary weight and hopped on to confirm what I already knew — I’m fatter than I desire to be. The digital dial stopped squarely on 200.0, which according to yesterday’s commitment I should weigh no more than 190.0 come Cheddarhead ‘09.

Hey, Hey, Hey, It’s Fat Paulie Albert The Albert
My newly adopted attitude toward life, which is rather difficult to maintain thanks to some of the problems being thrown my way, is teaching me to turn lemons into lemonade - which I will not be able to drink (this will make sense if you read this month’s goals).

Last night I met up with Maigh at The Albert in Inman Park. Old Skool Atlantans will know this location for its former tenant the Austin Avenue Buffet, which was closed years ago in order to raze the building. Wouldn’t you know, that razing never occurred so another Atlanta institution was lost for no good reason. At The Albert I ordered up a pile of boiled peanuts and had a Greek salad sans chicken. Overall the bar is good, although I shan’t see it as a destination bar for me anytime soon.

After The Albert I followed Maigh to her new digs and prepared to shoot. Unfortunately, the subject we were going to shoot never showed up. So instead I hung out with Maigh and her man the Mc whilst I played with their new cat who I’ve named “Skeletor” due to its current lack of bulk.

ITP Flickr Pic
If Target can put Christmas cards on their shelves before October 1st.

Then I have no problem posting a photo of pumpkins on October 1st.

George’s. Ge, Ge, Ge, Ge, George’s
Tonight! Perhaps one night only! I will be darkening the doors, and perhaps the floors, of George’s. I’ll be running, no faster than a snail’s pace, but it will be running nonetheless. Afterward I will drink nothing but water and beer (this will make sense if you read this month’s goals) as I snack on something which does not contain delicious meat. [I'm laughing as I type this so forgive my tongue-in-cheek asshattery.]

Hey Look! Goals.
After a month’s hiatus my monthly goals are back. There’s nothing down there that’s earth-shattering, but if I complete them I’ll be on a good start to changing my own life.

And now for some ideas stolen from LiveJournal…
Current Mood - fair, my boy is causing me bother
Current Music - Sirius Satellite Radio, Channel 26 playing Franz Ferdinand — “Lucid Dreams”
Website Of The Day - According to Go Veg Alicia Silverstone’s a vegetarian. Why was this information not provided to me sooner? Now we have something in common!
Exercise (b)Log - nothing
Monthly Foot Mileage - 0 miles
Monthly Wheel Mileage - 0 miles
Mode Of Transportation To Work - my car
Monthly Marta Rides - 0
Consecutive Days Of Bed-Making (Longest Streak) - 20 (110)
Books To Read To Earn Kindle - 4
Monthly Vegetarian Days - 0
Monthly Carnivorous Days - 0

October Goals
1) Lose no fewer than three pounds
2) Drink nothing but water, coffee, beer, wine (shut up, I’m not going to deprive myself of my one vice)
3) Run no fewer than 75 miles
4) Bike no fewer than 125 miles

Cheers,
Paulie [eatl/ga]

That’s a bastardization of the punch line to the old joke

“How are employees like mushrooms?”
“In order to have them grow the company must keep them in the dark and feed them shit.”

In The Dark I’m Quite The Stud
After eating a lunch of Nick’s Greek Food in Grant Park with a couple of other EAV Buzzers I drove, yes drove, to Atlantic Station to experience Dialog In The Dark.

At first I was really nervous because I saw a man walking around Atlantic Station with a cane and thought “Holy shit, they’re going to turn us loose in the street?” However, my fears were allayed when I found out that the entire exhibition is held in doors in a completely safe environment.

The next thing thing that happened was surreal. While waiting for my group’s start time I saw someone who looked very familiar. The guy, who was with a rather striking young lady, looked a lot like one of the guys in the play that I saw last night. This is the same play through which I found out about Dialog In The Dark via the playbill. As he sat down I asked “May I ask you a strange question? Are you an improv comic?” To which he answered “Yes, why?” At that point I told him that I had seen the show Thursday and that it was their shows responsibility for my attendance yesterday. He was really nice and held out his hand and told me his name was Tim. As we shook hands I told him my name. Yes, I shook his hand — it’s not like he’s one of those frail musician-types, or vegetarian…

The exhibition was cool, but imho could be cooler. You are given a cane and led into a room in which the lights are completely turned off. At that time you are introduced to your group guide, who in our case was very nice woman named Gloria. For about an hour Gloria led us through obstacles faced by blind people on a daily basis. The rooms are completely black and constructed in such a way that one’s eyes never get the ability to adjust and see anything for the entire time. At the end of the tour you are seated in another dark room and chat with your guide, asking questions and whatnot. In the end the guide leads you back into the light, at which time you can see your guide for the first time. I chose not to look however, as I didn’t want to alter the image of Gloria that I had already conjured.

The Return Of The Five-Sevenths Vegetarian
There are four people in this world who remember Fat Paulie of Huntsville, Alabama who in order to drop weight started exercising and eating a diet of vegetarian food five days out of the week, allowing himself meat on the two remaining days if he desired. I’d post a photo of this gentleman, but thankfully no pictures of him exist on the internets. And, none of the four previously mentioned people read this blog — at least to my knowledge.

As of today in an effort to lose ten pounds before Cheddarhead (that’s January 1st to you non-hashing types) I am returning to 5/7 vegetarianism for the foreseeable future. I thought about starting yesterday, but had plans to go and eat a pita for lunch. I thought about starting tomorrow on October 1st, but figured why wait? (Besides, I have something else up my sleeve for tomorrow and needed blogging material for today).

Wish me luck, I’m going to need it. Better yet, wish me good health as that is the real goal. With better health and shape I’ll get lucky — if you know what I’m sayin’…

And do me one favor… when you shake my hand, please be gentile.

ITP Flickr Pic
I do not know if Warren possess “The Gay” or not, but apparently Naomi believes so.

Actually, I’ve met Naomi before and I believe she is being somewhat facetious. (OMG! I just spelled “facetious” correctly on the first shot for the first time in my life!)

Hey, I Forgot To Talk About The Amazing Race
On Sunday night The Amazing Race started again! Woo Hoo!!!! With the exception of that season they did families I’ve loved every season of The Amazing Race that I’ve watched. Who’s with me on this? Who was only mildly surprised to see the aging hippies be the first team eliminated? Which team do you think you’ll like? Which team do you think you’ll hate? Which team do you think you’ll hate, but in the end will like?

Who Knows, I Just Might Go See A Show Tonight
Tonight Jenny Lewis is playing at Variety Playhouse. I’ve held off buying a ticket because I’ve not been sure about my work schedule recently (see also the Okkervil River ticket for Thursday night that I’ve had to give away) and I’m not the biggest Jenny Lewis supporter. However, I’ve not been to a show in weeks, and there are a lot worse acts to shoot with a camera — if you know what I’s sayin’…

Digital Download Of The Week
Two words for you:
1) Ben
2) Folds

Go buy Ben Folds’ “Way To Normal” today. I won’t guarantee that you’ll like it. You pays your money you takes your chances.

And now for some ideas stolen from LiveJournal…
Current Mood - miffed, but I’ll get over it
Current Music - Sirius Satellite Radio, Channel 26 playing The Hold Steady — “Stay Positive” (believe me, I’m trying but it’s tough)
Website Of The Day - I’ve been a fan of Camp Eureka for some time. Camp Eureka is summer camp for blind childred.
Exercise (b)Log - running, 4 miles
Monthly Foot Mileage - 19.5 miles
Monthly Wheel Mileage - 136 miles
Mode Of Transportation To Work - my car
Monthly Marta Rides - 0
Consecutive Days Of Bed-Making (Longest Streak) - 19 (110)
Books To Read To Earn Kindle - 4

September Goals
No idea

Cheers,
Paulie [eatl/ga]

Can I get everyone out there to do something for me? Can I get you all to agree that today is really Sunday and that I don’t have to take time off from work in order to do the things that are necessary today? Let’s just roll the clock back twenty-four hours, okay? That’s not asking much, is it?

Fill Me Up! My Belly, But Not My Gas Tank.
On Saturday I had the pleasure of tasting eighteen chili recipes, twelve brunswick stew recipes, and twelve chunks of cornbread. I was a judge at the Miller Lite Chili Cook-Off!

Chili (in the containers which were brought to the judges)

Cornbread (as left by another judge, who I would have killed to talk to btw; it’s no wonder she stays so skinny if she leaves this much food behind)

As I am wont to do I arrived early. My early arrival allowed me the time to wander the grounds looking at all of the teams who were preparing their concoctions. It was quite entertaining, as each team has a name, my favorite play on words being the team named “The Serranos”). Once the competition started food was served in rounds of six samples. If you break down my numbers above you’ll note that my table did three rounds of chili tasting (some of which were really good, others notsomuch), two rounds of brunswick stew (none of which thrilled me), and two rounds of cornbread (probably the most liberal interpretation on the day’s themes — one of which has something akin to bleu cheese!). For my efforts I received free entry to the event (including the park), enough food to fill my belly, a free t-shirt, a half-cup of Miller Lite (all I could stomach of that), and great afternoon of fun.

ITP Flickr Pic
This has been a common occurrence around these parts.

Here is the line waiting to get to the one gas station in Little Five Points that had gasoline yesterday.

Who Cares About The Drought, There’s No GAS!!!
If the above pictures didn’t paint an image of a “problem” then you weren’t paying attention.

It wasn’t until my commute home on Friday that I realized that the much ballyhooed gas “shortage” in Atlanta was real. As I drove down Briarcliff Road I passed four normally-functional gas stations that had none to sell. Since I had filled my gas tank last Wednesday I blew it off as a temporary affliction.

With plenty of gas in my tank still on Saturday I drove to Stone Mountain and back without even considering topping off my tank.

When I drove to Little Five Points to meet up with a group of Flickrites for a photostroll I started to get concerned. Three different stations had no gas, and the one that did had the line pictured above.

Because of this ridiculous gas crunch I decided to put off going to the Dialog In The Dark exhibition until today. I still plan to take Marta, but at least I am more confident that Marta will run on a more regular schedule today.

Whoops There Goes Another Rubber-Tree Plant
Another one of my banks is going by the wayside. Today the announcement came down that Wachovia is to be consumed by Citigroup. I hope that my money transfers (like the one I initiated Friday) and direct deposits/withdrawals will be completely unaffected. Seriously, this shit is happening so quickly that I cannot continue to stay on top of my financial future — that is if I still have a financial future…

And now for some ideas stolen from LiveJournal…
Current Mood - feel like I’m going to make it a great day
Current Music - listening to last week’s “Sound Opinions” podcast
Website Of The Day - So much shit is going down that I might have to go to iGourmet and buy myself a nice cheese basket. (This will make more sense tomorrow)
Exercise (b)Log - nothing
Monthly Foot Mileage - 15.5 miles
Monthly Wheel Mileage - 136 miles
Mode Of Transportation To Work - my car
Monthly Marta Rides - 0
Monday Morning Weigh-In - couldn’t take because batteries for scale have not yet completed recharging
Consecutive Days Of Bed-Making (Longest Streak) - 15 (110)
Books To Read To Earn Kindle - 4

September Goals
No idea

Cheers,
Paulie [eatl/ga]

I am here to say that late posts are not always due to my laziness. While I would have posted a little later than desired this morning because I dropped the Jackmobile at Curry Honda for service, the greater cause of today’s delay was my inability to get to my website this morning.

And Now I Find Out…
It figures that the week after I get my first photo back from Mpix that I;d watch an entire episode of Photoshop User TV that is dedicated to ordering from Mpix. With the tips they provided I bet my picture would look ten times better.

Oh well, next time…

Roll Out The Red Carpet
Last night I showed up to the Woodruff Arts Center and was surprised to see a photographer and a red carpet. All for the first play of the Hertz Stage? Nope. It was the Opening Night of the Atlanta Symphony Orchestra. Immediately my long-sleeved collared shirt and jeans were considered “under-dressed” as I passed men in tuxedos and women in cocktail gowns.

The play I was to see, The Second City’s “Welcome To Atlanta: Too Busy To Hate / Too Hard To Commute”, was a historical recreation of the best of Chicago’s Second City comedy group skits altered for Atlanta themes along with “new” improv comedy. I should admit that I like improv comedy, but only when performed at the highest level — otherwise I usually cringe. For me the highlights of the show were the rehearsed skits; I felt that the improv skits fell on their face. Be warned that the show is two-hours long with a fifteen-minute intermission. There was also a “bonus” improv-only encore which added an addition thirty minutes to the evening.

As per usual for Atlanta’s theater scene I was in the bottom twentieth-percentile of patron age. I happened to be seated next to an attractive female who was at the show alone, and I once again dropped the ball by not being able to generate small talk. And I wonder why I have been single for so long…

ITP Flickr Pic
Another picture taken while in Denver.

No Hashing For Me, I’ve Got Other Things To Do
Tomorrow I will be one of the judges at the annual Stone Mountain Great Miller Lite Chili Cook-Off. Yep, I’ll be a judge! I know this will devastate my hopes of losing weight this weekend and I’m okay with that.

On Sunday I will be using my eyes and then not using my eyes. I plan to wake early and get some daybreak photography in somewhere at an undetermined/undisclosed location. I then plan to head to Atlantic Station (yeah, I know) in order to participate in the Dialog In The Dark Exhibition. “Dialog In The Dark” is an hour-long tour through an everyday life of that of a blind person.

Dialog In The Dark’s visually impaired guides lead visitors on a journey through a series of darkened galleries created to replicate everyday experiences. Without familiar sight clues, visitors learn to “see” in a completely new way with their non-visual senses.

I’ve always been intrigued by deaf and blind people, but notsomuch of the dumb, and am really looking forward to this exhibition.

Happy Birthday ITP Reader Debbie!
(I must admit it tickles me to death when I use the “ITP Reader” preface).

Happy birthday Debbie, aka “Yes I Wood”! Debbie is one of the proprietors of the Moreland Day Spa and provides one of the best spreads of food that I have ever encountered. Watch out for her though as she is usually the dominoes scorekeeper and miraculously wins quite often. _{(I think she cheats)}

And now for some ideas stolen from LiveJournal…
Current Mood - looking forward to today’s workday end
Current Music - Sirius Satellite Radio, Channel 26 playing Of Montreal — “Id Engager”
Website Of The Day - It’s Friday, let’s all be silly by going to Totally Looks Like.
Exercise (b)Log - nothing
Monthly Foot Mileage - 15.5 miles
Monthly Wheel Mileage - 136 miles
Mode Of Transportation To Work - my car
Monthly Marta Rides - 0
Consecutive Days Of Bed-Making (Longest Streak) - 14 (110)
Books To Read To Earn Kindle - 4

September Goals
No idea

Cheers,
Paulie [eatl/ga]

Getting out of bed this morning was really tough. I finally made it home from the airport around 12:45am, and since I had woken up in Mountain Time I wasn’t quite ready to go to sleep.

Now That’s The Deadbeat Dad Attitude
As if matters in my fantasy football world couldn’t get worse… I found out yesterday that one of my starting wide receivers, New York Giants’ Plaxico Burress, has been suspended for two weeks for failure to show up for practice on Monday and Tuesday. Yep, it’s going to be a long season.

I Really Need To Start Taking Better Notes
I had so much to say today but am having major difficulty remembering anything.

ITP Flickr Pic
Another from my new animal series called “What Are You Looking At?”

This squirrel and I had quite the modeling session yesterday. I’d walk near her and she’d jump from the garbage can to the nearby tree. Moments later like a crack addict she was back in the garbage can and I was in pursuit of a shot.

Oh So Cultured I Am
Tonight I’ll be headed to the Hertz Stage at Alliance Theater to see “The Second City: Too Busy To Hate… Too Hard To Commute.” This will be the first of three shows that I see at the Hertz Stage as part of the season subscription that I bought a few months ago.

And now for some ideas stolen from LiveJournal…
Current Mood - all things considered, pretty damn good
Current Music - Sirius Satellite Radio, Channel 26 playing The Hold Steady — “Sequestered In Memphis”
Website Of The Day - While in Denver I was reminded of Len, the guy who kept calling me Dave. Len was a Kindle advocate and as such has created a podcast about it at The Kindle Chronicles.
Exercise (b)Log - nothing, and the knee still hurts a bit
Monthly Foot Mileage - 15.5 miles
Monthly Wheel Mileage - 136 miles
Mode Of Transportation To Work - my car
Monthly Marta Rides - 0
Consecutive Days Of Bed-Making (Longest Streak) - 13 (110)
Books To Read To Earn Kindle - 4

September Goals
No idea

Cheers,
Paulie [eatl/ga]

Hello Denver! Are you ready to rock???

Today I’ve woken up in yet another hotel, this time in Denver, Colorado. I’m here just one day for business purposes and return home tonight. Fun!

Denver: Land Of The Lock-Up
Thankfully I am referring to my electronics and not jail. Twice last night I had weird electronic lock-ups.

While driving to downtown Denver, the popular LoDo district, Jill (the popular GPS) locked up; she just stopped updating as we were nearing the exit I needed to take off of I-25. By the time I rebooted her I was completely turned around and had to slither my way to my destination.

This morning my alarm went off, two hours early because I forgot to change the system time on my iBook. To confirm my suspicion that I still had plenty of time to sleep I checked my phone which said “3:49am.” After some amount additional sleep I rolled over and checked my phone which still said “3:49am.” Argh! Luckily after rebooting the phone I realized that I wasn’t running late.

Denver: More Like Deja’nver
It’s hard to believe that three weeks have passed since I was last here. I arrived last night to be given a white Pontiac P6, just like the one I drove around the last time I was here.

Last night I went to dinner at Dixon’s in downtown Denver, just like the last time I was here.

At Dixon’s I ate fish and chips washed down with a Odell 90 Shilling, just like the last time I was here.

But then things changed as I went to Wynkoop Brew Pub (beautiful women….), took a few shots around downtown (would have taken many more if I were solo), and returned to a hotel near the office in which I will labor today.

ITP Flickr Pic
Photos from last night because my old iBook is unable to run Lightroom. Oddly, I had a dream last night in which I purchased a new Macbook. Foreshadowing???

This is Denver’s Union Station (up close as shot from the ground).

Sadly I had a much “better” shot, at least in composition, but not sharp. Bumma!

This is one view of the inside of Union Station

It’s really a neat building and I wish I had the time and equipment to shoot it properly.

Denver: It’s Obviously Going To Keep Me From George’s
While I leave Denver today it should be abundantly clear that the two-hour, thirty-minute flight in conjunction with the loss of two hours in time zone change will keep me from running at George’s tonight. It’s probably going to make for a rough Thursday morning as well.

And now for some ideas stolen from LiveJournal…
Current Mood - pretty good, although the knee still hurts
Current Music - listening to yesterday’s “Buzz Out Loud” podcast from C|Net.
Website Of The Day - Traveling to another state? Need to know their laws about cellphone usage while driving? Check out State Cell Phone Driving Laws. (thanks to Martha for pointing me to this the other day)
Exercise (b)Log - nothing
Monthly Foot Mileage - 15.5 miles
Monthly Wheel Mileage - 136 miles
Mode Of Transportation To Work - a rental car
Monthly Marta Rides - 0
Consecutive Days Of Bed-Making (Longest Streak) - another night in a hotel, therefore it’s not my job
Books To Read To Earn Kindle - 4

September Goals
No idea

Cheers,
Paulie [eatl/ga]